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Crosslake Communications to purchase new telephone switch

The Crosslake City Council approved purchase Monday night, June 10, of a telephone switch totaling around $260,000.

Jared Johnson, Crosslake Communications staff, said the switch is the “nucleus of a telephone company,” that makes the calls happen. It provides the dial tone, 911 call work, the recording a caller receives when they forget to dial a 1 and other services like three-way calling.

Paul Hoge, Crosslake Communications general manager, told the council that the purchase was approved in 2012, but never made because of unexpected maintenance fees in the amount of around $20,000.

The current switch is around 10 years old. The new switch is much smaller, and Hoge said it will fix many bugs in the system.

The council moved forward with the purchase June 10 because of a tax the Legislature recently implemented that would add around $17,000 to the cost if the purchase was made after July 1. Crosslake Communications was also able to receive a bundling deal where a year of maintenance was included in the purchase.